STAFF at SG Motor Finance have backed the impassioned plea of their managing director Roger Glenwright for the fleet industry to gain more professional training. He made his call at the Institute of Car Fleet Management's annual conference, and pledged that at least one of his staff would join the ICFM's fast-track certificate programme,

'When I returned to the office, four of my staff immediately asked if they could go on the fast-track course,' said Glenwright. He then contacted parent company First National Vehicle Holdings and it readily agreed to fund the training courses. 'So we will have two people on the first, and two on the second fast track courses, because I cannot afford to lose four people at once,' said Glenwright.

The 11-strong SG Motor Finance, the former Siemens fleet department, already has two ICFM diploma holders, so within two years over half the team will have professional fleet management qualifications, while two more have university degrees. Glenwright believes more fleet managers would pursue training if their employers provided support, and said the time and resource devoted to training is repaid tenfold.